Reuters Thinks Detroit’s Food Dessert is Puzzling; And So Does Everyone Else
Food Fallacies →
Mexican Town’s Honeybee Market in Detroit [Photo by: Rebecca Cook]
In its quest to repeat what the national media and everyone else already knew, Reuters has penned a new article about Detroit and the emerging food market. It’s a story as old as time folks! And all the usual suspects are here. Phillip Cooley represents his hand and reiterates for the umpteenth time why people thought he was crazy for starting SLOWS BBQ in what is now one of city’s most successful neighborhoods. Check!
Honeybee Market located just inside Detroit’s Mexican Town says that it remains dedicated to serving the community and residents from all over the city. Power to the independent grocers, expansion, shop local/buy local, etcetera etcetera…
Meanwhile, Whole Foods, America’s sweetheart of organic grocers who recently announced their foray into Detroit, cited a growing interest in the city’s organic food movement as its reason for setting up shop. Can Whole Foods save us from our diet of pork rinds and steroid inflated super fruit? Probably not but if they stick to what this article says, then residents need not worry too much about what it’ll cost them,
“The store will hire about 70 people and focus on more affordable offerings than the pricey fare that earned the company the nickname Whole Paycheck.”
But in the end, It’s Ann Perrault, co-owner of Avalon Bakery, who pipes up about what it takes to drive supply and demand for food in the Motor City: more people. Perhaps the only one with anything new to say,she explains,
“We need about 300,000 more people instantly to support this kind of growth… If we get 300,000 more people, I’d say, ‘Sure, this is going to take off like fire.’”
If the article ended there, it would be a perfect blend of everything that’s been said or will ever be said about the city’s rise to feed the masses. But it doesn’t. Not at least, until someone has had a chance to bitch about how unlucky it is that Detroiters are living in a food dessert,
“Detroit is even short on fast-food chains. “It’s pretty bad, the worst I’ve seen,” said consultant Mari Gallagher, who popularized the term “food desert” and penned an oft-cited 2007 report detailing Detroit’s lack of healthy food options.”
For the media at large, let’s take a moment to point your browsers over to Data Driven Detroit’s 2011 report on the systemic “food crisis”. Anyone who loves a good set of info graphics can see that the city is home to upwards of 115 DIFFERENT STORES. Say what? A map for your viewing pleasure spells out the proof:
Data Driven goes onto add,
“The problem in Detroit is not a lack of food; it is the way in which that food gets to our tables. The food desert label detracts from the situation on the ground and has the potential to distract policy makers, keeping them from finding real solutions. Detroit residents know the local food landscape best. Poor residents also recognize that local groceries do exist, spending over $27 million a month with EBT cards in Detroit grocers.”
Reuthers may never get it when it comes to understanding how the city’s 900,000+ residents eat on a daily basis but that doesn’t mean we’ve resigned ourselves to going hungry. After all, we’ve still got an assortment of White Castle and Church’s Chicken franchises left, haven’t we? Still, the resources exist but it’s not like we’d expect these news outlets to contribute anything new to the dialog. We’re asking too much, right?
• An Analysis of Full-Service Grocery Stores in Detroit [DDD]
• Motown Hopes Food Will Spur Rebirth; Growth [Reuters]
Duff Goldman
Don’t let that awkward 
